Nationwide driver shortages and problems

All we hear lately is driver shortages. Now most of us know about the lorry shortage, but now they have just increased the wages and started up lump sums of money for lorry drivers which has caused a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, bus drivers have all left in droves to work as hgv drivers. So now we have a nationwide bus driver shortage with services now being cancelled around the country, now remember there is rural ppl relying on buses to get about. But if that is not bad enough there is also train driver shortages as well, now many that travel on train will already know this as most of the time we stand there looking at the board praying our train is not going to get cancelled, train cancellation's has been happening more and more of late due to shortage of staff, not only to drive the trains but to run it also.

What else could possibly be added on to that right, well what happens when you can't get a train and you need to get home and you live local? You get a taxi right? Well not now, there has become an increase in taxi driver shortages as well, this due to lock down and the renewing of licences and permits from the councils. Now I'm not saying you will experience the shortage in taxis as specially if you live in a city, but drivers has not come back due to licence issues as well as other issues.

Now what is an issue is the safety of ppl that work till late in the night or ppl going out they would use a cab to get home, buy how they going to do that now.

Now many will know how hard it is to get a drivers renewal lately, there is a long waiting period, due to lack of staff workers at dvla due to covid concerns.

So let me you give you a run down of what is happening :-

There is a shortage of hgv, bus, train and taxi drivers nationwide and to top it off, office staff shortage due to covid concerns in councils and dvla, so when you need permits or licence renewals there is not enough staff to get them done in time, so there is a big waiting period, which also creates another problem as if the waiting period is to long there will be drivers that is out there with expired driving licences or be forced off the road.

This is the world we are living in now, now.

I did say bus drivers went to be hgv drivers right, so has that changed the hgv shortage, no it hasn't, no where near enough, while ports have run out of storage, leaving shipping vessels waiting to come in. We will be lucky to get christmas products in this year as not much is getting through right now.

On a bright note rail freight has offered there services to be used more that would help containers get out of ports faster relieving the container issue.

But here is the kicker, government won't help themselves, they not approving more rail use yet they say they want an eco economy, wouldn't rail freight be better to move the containers around the country than container hgv trucks? that would relieve pressure off the hgv drivers by driving shorter distances.

Rail freight can take containers up and down the country day and night, this would ease the pressure out of ports so we can get goods flowing again.

Written by Wayne callaghan